Rock is the medium of our generation
Stand for every right, kick it out, hear you shout
For the right of all of creation"
Tormato is the ninth album by English Progressive Rock band Yes, released on 22 September 1978 through Atlantic Records. After the critical and commercial success of Going for the One, Yes reconvened in London to record their next album after taking a break from an exhausting tour. Initially, the album was to be called Yes Tor, after the hill of the same name
in Devon's Dartmoor. They commissioned Hipgnosis, who had designed their last album cover, to take some photoshoots at the site of said hill, but Yes was highly displeased with the photos that were taken, supposedly resulting in Rick Wakeman throwing a tomato at said pictures. The splotched tomato on the image stuck, and the album was then renamed Tormato.
The album went on to be a major commercial success, reaching RIAA Platinum status within two months in the United States, and their single "Don't Kill the Whale" making the Top 40 in UK radio charts. However, there had been disagreements in the creative direction within the band, resulting in the friction that led to the departure of lead vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Anderson would eventually rejoin Yes for 90125, albeit initially as a result of joining a separate band that featured ex-Yes members, and Wakeman continued his solo career, making on-again off-again appearances in the band starting with 1991's Union. The album itself would see a re-release in 2004, including nine songs that had been cut from the original recording.
Tracklist
Side one- "Future Times"/"Rejoice" (6:40)
- "Don't Kill the Whale" (3:53)
- "Madrigal" (2:23)
- "Release, Release" (5:42)
Side two
- "Arriving UFO" (5:59)
- "Circus of Heaven" (4:28)
- "Onward" (3:57)
- "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" (7:45)
Principal members
- Jon Anderson: lead vocals, 10-string Alvarez Guitar ("Future Times"/"Rejoice", "Arriving UFO", "On the Silent Wings of Freedom")
- Steve Howe: guitars, mandolin, Spanish guitar, vocals
- Chris Squire: bass guitars, piano ("Don't Kill the Whale"), backing vocals
- Rick Wakeman: Birotron, Hammond organ, Polymoog synthesizer, piano, harpsichord, RMI Electra Piano
- Alan White: drums, percussion, backing vocals ("Release, Release")
Onward through the tropes of my life:
- Bizarre Instrument: Rick Wakeman's Birotron, which was a tape-replay synthesizer that takes recorded samples and augments them through a keyboard. This was one of the few times that it ever saw use.
- Epic Rocking: "Future Times"/"Rejoice" and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" are both above six minutes, while "Arriving UFO" is just one second shy.
- Green Aesop: "Don't Kill the Whale", which as the name suggests is a protest song against killing whales.
- Heavy Meta: "Release, Release". Rock is the medium of our generation...
- Longest Song Goes Last: At 7:45, "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" closes out the album.
- Produce Pelting: Rick Wakeman, displeased at the proposed Hipgnosis cover for the upcoming album Yes Tor, threw a tomato at the artwork. The tomato was incorporated into the album cover and it was renamed Tormato.
- Protest Song: "Don't Kill the Whale", which as the name suggests is against killing whales.
- Pun-Based Title: Tormato was originally going to be named Yes Tor after a peak in Devon. As the album's final title came from Rick Wakeman throwing a tomato at the cover art, they ended up swapping out one pun for another.
- Space Whale: Invoked on "Don't Kill the Whale", which refers to whales as "our last heaven beast."
